Abstract:

Since the launch of the European Higher Education Area in March 2010, the life of students has become busier each year. The number of tasks, group works, practices and partial examinations to pass has progressively increased. Moreover, the need to enhance their competitiveness with respect to other students (e.g., by learning second languages or attending specialisation courses) makes the time they allocate for studying to be more and more fragmented and dispersed in time.

The present study analyses the use of videos as learning material during the course, to complement the conventional teaching methodology. These videos allow students to visualise brief theoretical explanations and practical examples at any time and place through the Youtube platform. In this way, the students may self-manage their available time and decide their studying schedule with more flexibility. Also, they have the possibility to study even when they do not have their notes available for consultation.

Some videos consist of a presentation made with Microsoft PowerPoint together with the off-screen explanation of the teacher, while others show lab facilities or hand-written examples resolution. The videos were published within a specific YouTube channel and in an Open Course Ware (OCW), designed as a repository of teaching videos in the platform of the University of Zaragoza. This video collection was complemented with a set of short self-assessment questionnaires to support the learning process through this methodology.

The results show a high degree of satisfaction among students with this teaching methodology, as well as an improvement in the learning outcomes. According to the visualization statistics, the most suitable maximum duration of the videos should be in the range of 10 minutes to increase the number of views and the retention of the user. Besides, from the point of view of the teaching staff, the development of videos implies the possibility of seeing how other teachers explain the subject, being especially useful in the case of teachers who have to teach the subject for the first time.

Acknowledgement:
The study is framed within several subjects in the field of thermodynamics and thermal engineering, from various Bachelor’s degrees of the University of Zaragoza. This article is mostly focused on the results obtaining in the Degree in Electronic and Automatic Engineering. The teaching innovation project is funded by the Vice-rectorate for Academic Policy of the University of Zaragoza (PRAUZ_18_012 and PIIDUZ_18_102).

Keywords:

Learning Analytics, Learning videos, Engineering learning, Higher education.